The Food of Asia. Kong Foong Ling

      This child seems to be eating with more gusto than finesse.You may need some practice before becoming adept with chopsticks.

      The basic Chinese diet and means of food preparation were in place about 6000 years ago, although many imported ingredients entered the Chinese larder and new cooking methods were adopted. From the earliest times, the Chinese have divided their foodstuffs into two general categories: fan (cooked rice and staple grain dishes) and cai (cooked meat and vegetable dishes). A balanced mixture of grain and cooked dishes has been the ideal of a Chinese meal since time immemorial. Further balances were sought between the yin (cooling) and yang (heating) qualities of the foods served. The notion of food as both preventative and curative medicine is deeply embedded in the Chinese psyche.

      The specific proportion of grain and cooked dishes on a menu depends on the economic status of the diners and the status of the occasion. The grander the occasion, the more cooked dishes and less grain. Even today, this tradition is maintained at banquets, where a small symbolic bowl of plain steamed rice is served after an extensive selection of dishes.

      Rice is served steamed, fried (after boiling) or made into noodles by grinding raw rice into rice flour. It is also cooked with a lot of water to produce congee or zhou (rice gruel), a popular breakfast food and late-night snack eaten with savory side dishes. Rice is eaten by raising the bowl to the mouth and shoveling the grains in with the chopsticks in a rapid fanning motion.

      The Chinese table is a shared table. The average meal would comprise three to four cai, fan, and a soup, served at once, to be shared between the diners who help themselves. The cai dishes should each have a different main ingredient, perhaps one meat, one fish, and one vegetable. Each dish should complement the other in terms of taste, texture and flavor, and the total effect appeal to both the eye and the tongue.

      When cooking Chinese food, prepare all the ingredients and have them ready before you start cooking as trying to juggle a hot wok and chop a chicken at the same time inevitably leads to catastrophe!

      Tea is drunk before and after a meal, but rarely during a meal. The most famous of clear-spirits drunk "straight up" in small handle-less cups or glasses during a meal is Maotai, made in the south-west province of Guizhou.

      Chinese meals are socially important events, and special menus are presented for weddings and birthdays; important festivals also have their traditional dishes and snacks.

      Finally, some tips on etiquette. Don't point with your chopsticks and don't stick them into your rice bowl and leave them standing up or crossed. Don't use your chopsticks to explore the contents of a dish-locate the morsel you want with your eyes and go for it with your chopsticks without touching any other pieces.

      If you wish to take a drink of wine at a formal dinner, you must first toast another diner, regardless of whether he or she responds by drinking. If you are toasted and don't wish to drink, simply touch your lips to the edge of the wine glass to acknowledge the courtesy.

      It is incumbent upon the host to urge the guests to eat and drink to their fill. This means ordering more food than necessary and keeping an eye out for idle chopsticks. It is polite to serve the guest of honor the best morsels, such as the cheek of the fish, using a pair of serving or "public" chopsticks or with the back end of one's chop-sticks. And remember, all food is communal and to be shared.